Co-creation of a Sensor and Equipment Control Network System Utilizing a Cloud Platform (Report No. 3)
Implementation of an Integrated UI App Capable of Visualizing User Locations and Controlling Lighting; Aiming for Integration with the Environmental Behavior App “Asapp”*1

Nikken Sekkei Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Atsushi Omatsu; hereinafter "Nikken Sekkei"), Exeo Group Corporation (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President & President and CEO: Tetsuya Funahashi; hereinafter "Exeo Group"), WHERE Inc. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & President and CEO: Mitsuhisa Iwai; hereinafter "WHERE"), OMRON Corporation (Head Office: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture; President & President and CEO: Junta Tsujinaga; hereinafter "Omron"), Kanda Tsushinki Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & President and CEO: Masato Kanbe; hereinafter "Kanda Tsushinki"), and X1Studio Inc. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & President and CEO: William Achuri; hereinafter "X1Studio") have collaborated to build a sensor and equipment control network system utilizing a cloud platform in offices, in order to address work style reforms and realize a decarbonized society.※2,3We have been working on this initiative. This system integrates environmental data—such as people’s locations obtained from sensors, as well as indoor temperature, humidity, and illuminance—onto a cloud platform. By coordinating building systems such as HVAC and lighting, it enables more comfortable and efficient building operations.
Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director President and CEO: Noboru Okubo; hereinafter “Uchida Yoko”) has now joined the initiative. Together, the companies have implemented an integrated UI application capable of visualizing people’s locations and displaying and controlling lighting at Nikken Sekkei’s demonstration office, and will begin verification on December 20.We believe that by enabling each office worker to check the occupancy status of rooms and the settings of building systems at a glance via their smartphones—and to operate them easily—we can encourage more proactive environmental behavior. Additionally, Nikken Sekkei previously announced the environmental behavior app “Asapp” on March 1, 2023.※1Through this collaboration, we aim to visualize CO2 reductions achieved through equipment control and award points based on the amount of CO2 reduced.

In this collaborative project, we first implemented lighting control that contributes to decarbonization by integrating data from thermopile-type motion sensors and location information from smartphones and other devices.The challenges with conventional lighting control technology were that pyroelectric infrared sensors could not accurately determine a person’s location or detect stationary individuals. However, by utilizing thermopile-type motion sensors—which can detect human presence in 900×900 mm grids based on temperature—we have implemented a lighting control system that determines presence, absence, and passage.

In the next step, we focused on integrating the system with the HVAC system. While conventional lighting and HVAC controls provided a uniform, comfortable environment regardless of the number of occupants, we have now implemented a control system that turns off lighting and HVAC in unoccupied spaces based on smartphone location data and adjusts lighting and HVAC settings to more economical levels in spaces with few occupants.

Many systems to date have been complicated because each piece of equipment had its own application, and this proliferation of applications compromised user-friendliness. There was also the issue that controls could be operated even when the user was not physically present.
Therefore, in this project, we developed a system that allows users to visualize location information and display and control lighting all within a single smartphone application. We also added a feature that restricts control to only those areas where a user is present, based on location data. Furthermore, lighting control allows for detailed settings, such as adjusting brightness and color temperature, and selecting scenes, on a per-area basis.
This verification has expanded the possibilities for displaying and controlling HVAC systems through a single smartphone app as well. We also believe it is possible to extend this to evaluating actions such as turning off or reducing HVAC and lighting usage via the environmental action app Asapp, as well as prompting users through Asapp to take such environmental actions.It is well understood that achieving carbon neutrality requires not only building optimization but also actions based on environmental awareness Private. By using this tool—which allows anyone to easily control building systems—in conjunction with Asapp, we aim to further promote behavioral change.

In addition to addressing the transition to a decarbonized society and workplace reform, we are strengthening integration with a broader range of building systems (security, disaster prevention, solar shading, and audiovisual systems), as well as BIM※4Through integration with Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the further utilization of AI, we aim to expand our collaborative efforts to create workplaces that are healthy and promote intellectual productivity.

Nikken Sekkei is a professional services firm specializing in architectural and civil engineering design and supervision, urban design, and related research, planning, and consulting services. For 120 years since its founding in 1900, Nikken Sekkei has been committed to creating value through "social environment design," which aims to solve both explicit and implicit social issues, in order to meet the demands of society and the diverse needs of its clients. To date, it has been involved in various projects in Japan, China, ASEAN, and the Middle East, and in recent years has expanded into India and Europe.

株式会社日建設計
本社：東京都千代田区、代表取締役社長：大松敦、WEBサイト：https://www.nikken.co.jp/ja/
問い合わせ：広報室 03-5226-3030(代表) / webmaster@nikken.jp
エクシオグループ株式会社
本社：東京都渋谷区、代表取締役社長：舩橋哲也、WEBサイト：https://www.exeo.co.jp/
問い合わせ：CSR・広報室 03-5778-1075(直通) / koho@hqs.exeo.co.jp
株式会社WHERE
本社：東京都千代田区、代表取締役社長：岩井光久、WEBサイト：https://where123.jp/
問い合わせ：企画統括部 03-6261-5722(代表) / info@where123.jp
オムロン株式会社
本社：京都府京都市、代表取締役社長：辻永順太、WEBサイト：https://www.omron.co.jp/
問い合わせ：ブランドコミュニケーション部 075-344-7175(直通)
神田通信機株式会社
本社：東京都千代田区、代表取締役社長：神部雅人、WEBサイト：https://www.kandt.co.jp/
問い合わせ：総務部 03-3252-7731(代表)
X1Studio株式会社
本社：東京都千代田区、代表取締役社長：ウィリアム・アチュリ、WEBサイト：https://x1studio.co.jp/
問い合わせ： 03-4545-2165(代表) / x1s.info@x1studio.co.jp
株式会社内田洋行
本社：東京都中央区、代表取締役社長：大久保昇、WEBサイト：https://www.uchida.co.jp/
問い合わせ：広報部 03-3555-4072(代表)

*1 “Asapp” (patent pending), a smartphone application developed by Nikken Sekkei that visualizes the CO2 emissions and reductions of each individual office worker during work, fostering environmental awareness and encouraging eco-friendly behavior.

*4 A building database that incorporates information such as building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, and the quantities and characteristics of building components into a 3D model created on a computer. It may also refer to the workflow itself for managing and utilizing this database in all phases of a building project, from design and construction through maintenance and management.